You can spot the Bulkeley School by its sturdy granite walls, steep multicolored slate roofs, and dramatic Gothic windows-just look for the castle-like structure standing tall at the crossroads.
Alright, let’s take in this showstopper of New London, where stone meets ambition. Imagine it’s the early 1870s-horses clatter down the street, and folks are eyeing this brand-new schoolhouse, courtesy of a generous merchant, Leonard Bulkeley. His bequest-about $100,000 at the time (think two and a half million in today’s dollars)-put up the funds for a boys’ high school where city kids could test their smarts… and only the best passed the entrance exam. If you got in, your tuition was free. Not so for out-of-towners; by the 1890s, families from neighboring areas paid out of pocket, fueling the school’s expansion.
The architect, Leopold Eidlitz of New York, knew how to make a place feel grand. Look up at those Gothic arches-he wasn’t here to design a plain box. The original section, right in front of you, held young men destined for law, business, or city government. These halls shaped New London’s leaders, one algebra lesson at a time.
After private schooling wound down in 1951, the building’s purpose shifted-first as public school headquarters and now buzzing once again with students as the Regional Multicultural Magnet School for elementary-age kids. Same imposing façade, just younger voices ringing down those granite corridors.
Whenever you’re ready, Ye Antientist Burial Ground is up next-just head north for about 2 minutes.
